In some examples, an electric guitar includes a body, strings, and one or more pickups for detecting vibrations of the strings. A bridge supports the strings over the body under tension. For example, a magnetic pickup can be used in which the pickup includes magnets wrapped with coils of wire that react to disturbances caused by the guitar's vibrating metal strings. A pickup designed for a multi-string guitar can have multiple poles, each pole corresponding to the string positioned above it. Plucking a string causes the pickup to produce an electronic signal that corresponds to the string's vibrations. The electric guitar may include an output jack for connecting a guitar cable to an external power amplifier, which in turn drives a speaker. The power amplifier may be connected to an equalizer or other equipment for producing desired sound effects. The electric guitar may include an audio jack for connecting to a headphone.